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We are excited to introduce new hands-on curriculum appropriate for use in co-ed middle and high school STEM classrooms. Orthopaedics in Action (OiA) has been designed to meet national education standards (NGSS) while providing real world applications of traditional subjects such as math, physics, and biology. OiA kits come complete with five stand-alone lessons that aim to span the gap between engineering and the biomedical sciences.

OiA kits will be available in Spring 2015. To pre-register for a kit, please click on the link below, and we will keep you updated on the release date.

Our Business Director, Mari Collings, is moving on after four years of service with The Perry Initiative. Mari was our first employee, joining the Perry team in Summer 2010, and she was instrumental in the growth of the organization from a summer program in San Francisco to a national STEM program. For four years, Mari worked behind the scenes on fiscal management and vendor relations, building a strong infrastructure for our organization that has allowed us to grow exponentially. Thank you, Mari, for all that you have done for us here at Perry. We wish you all the best.

The Perry Initiative is proud to be mentioned as an exemplary STEM program in Dr. Vince Bertram’s new book, “One Nation Under Taught: Solving America’s Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math Crisis.” Dr. Bertram is CEO of Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a nationally recognized non-profit organization with innovative K12 curriculum and professional development in the engineering and biomedical disciplines.”One Nation Under Taught” is currently at #7 on the New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction List. Congrats to Dr. Bertram and PLTW, and thanks for recognizing the work we do here at Perry!

Click here to purchase “One Nation Under Taught” from an independent bookseller!

Our 2014 Perry Initiative Summer Interns, Amira Idris and Manuela Restrepo, have completed their internships and returned to classes at University of Delaware.

Amira and Manuela traveled to programs in Yakima WA, San Jose CA, Los Angeles CA and San Francisco CA, and they made a very important contribution to The Perry Initiative with their development of our new arthroscopic knee surgery module. The interns designed and fabricated these simulators of arthroscopic knee surgery using household items like buttons, as well as handheld cameras. The new modules have been very well received by participants in pilot programs, and we hope to bring these modules to all 2014/ 2015 programs. Support The Perry Initiative and help us fund these new modules here.

Amira and Manuela are ready for surgery!

In addition to traveling to Perry Outreach Programs, the interns also had the opportunity to shadow Perry Initiative co-founder, Dr. Lisa Lattanza, in the operating room. Manuela said of her experience, “We were able to be present in the OR for three surgeries starting at 8am and ending at 6pm. The first surgery was the removal of a bony growth on the patient’s thumb, the second case was the removal of a duplicate thumb, and the last one was the construction of the olecranon in the elbow joint using an autograft from the patient’s hip and an allograft from a cadaver. While in the OR, we were able to move around the room to get a good look at the surgery, the staff in the room was very nice and didn’t seem to mind our presence at all. They answered our questions and explained each of their roles in great detail. Not only did we learn a lot but we also had a chance to see how our biomedical engineering training applies in the field. We are grateful to have had this once in a lifetime opportunity.”

The 2014 Perry Initiative Summer internships were sponsored by University of Delaware Service Learning Program. Amira and Manuela learned about non-profit management, in addition to developing the new arthroscopy modules. “Being involved with The Perry Initiative, one thing I learned about running a nonprofit was, although there are challenges along the way, the process to become successful and overcome these challenges can be fun and exciting when there is a great team with a passion to fulfill the mission of the organization. My experience as a Perry Intern was fun, exciting, and life changing. I have met some amazing people along the way, and hope to continue my involvement with Perry in the future.” said Amira of her summer internship.

We wish Amira and Manuela the best of luck as they both start their senior year of biomedical engineering major at University of Delaware. We have greatly enjoyed your time with The Perry Initiative, and we are so proud of the new arthroscopy module. Thank you both!

Perry alumnae continue to pursue their interest in orthopaedic surgery and engineering research by working in the Orthopaedic Research Lab at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI. This summer, three Perry Outreach Programs alumnae worked in the lab this summer–Harshita Pinnamaneni, Mackenzie Fleischer and Kelley Park. Harshita volunteered in the lab last summer, and then this summer she was hired as a paid summer internship working in the implant retrieval section. Mackenzie and Kelley both applied, and were accepted for, the summer cycle of the SOAR (Student OrthopAedic Research) volunteer program. This program is highly competitive and typically accepts 1-2 students/level (i.e. high school, undergraduate, medical school). It includes both lab-based volunteering as well as the experience to shadow orthopaedic surgeons in the OR. Beaumont Hospital offers the program during three cycles throughout the year: summer, fall, and spring. Applications were due on 8/1 for the fall cycle, and we will have another Perry grad–Emily Fisher–volunteering in the lab beginning in a few weeks.

Dr. Rachel Rohde and Erin Baker are our Perry Outreach Program hosts at Beaumont Hospital, and we love working with them. Erin said, “We strive to connect with our site’s Perry grads, as they determine their career pathways after the program. By offering your program annually and keeping the conversation open with POP grads, we hope to be a small piece of the puzzle that increases the number of women choosing orthopaedic surgery and engineering careers.” Thank you both for your dedication to increasing the number of women in orthopaedics and engineering. We love to see the photo below of women in orthopaedic engineering research!

Upcoming Events

We are pleased to announce a Medical Student Outreach Program in Minneapolis, MN which will take place at Zimmer Spine on March 6, 2015. We will be holding our MSOP event for medical students in the greater Minneapolis area. Women in first[...]

We are pleased to announce a Perry Outreach Program in Albuquerque, New Mexico which will take place at University of New Mexico on March 14, 2015. We will be holding our POP event for high school[...]

We are pleased to announce a Medical Student Outreach Program in Atlanta, GA which will take place at Emory University on March 20, 2015. We will be holding our MSOP event for medical students in the greater Atlanta area. Women in first[...]

We are pleased to announce a Perry Outreach Program in Atlanta, GA which will take place at Emory University on March 21, 2015. We will be holding our POP event for high school students in the greater[...]